Hydraulic drive mechanism for moving an article to predetermined points



Sept. 19, 1961 G. H. MAY 3,000,359

HYDRAULIC DRIVE. MECHANISM FOR MOVING AN ARTICLE TO PREDETERMINED POlNTS Filed March 11, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 l0 FIG. 1

INVENTOR. GORDON H. MAY

Sept. 19, 1961 G. H. MAY 3,000,359

HYDRAULIC DRIVE: MECHANISM FOR MOVING AN ARTICLE TO PREDETERMINED POINTS Filed March 11, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

Sept. 19, 1961 MAY 3,000,359

HYDRAULIC DRIVE. MECHANISM FOR MOVING AN ARTICLE TO PREDETERMINED POINTS Filed March 11, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 3

Sept. 19, 1961 G H. MAY 3,000,359 HYDRAULIC DRIVE ME Filed March 11, 1960 FIG. 4

CHANISM FOR MOVING AN ARTICLE TO PREDETERMINED POINTS 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Sept. 19, 1961 G. H. MAY 3,000,359

HYDRAULIC DRIVE MECHANISM FOR MOVING AN ARTICLE TO PREDETERMINED POINTS Filed March 11, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 5

Sept. 19, 1961 G. H. MAY

HYDRAULIC DRIVE. MECHANISM FOR MOVING AN ARTICLE TO PREDETERMINED POINTS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed March 11, 1960 FIG. 6

United States Patent 3,000,359 HYDRAULIC DRIVE MECHANISM FOR MOVING AN ARTICLE TO PREDETERMINED POINTS Gordon H. May, San Jose, Calif., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York,

N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 11, 1960, Ser. No. 14,229 7 Claims. (Cl. 121-'40) The present invention relates to hydraulic mechanisms for moving articles. More particularly the present invention relates to a hydraulic mechanism for rapidly moving relatively heavy articles very accurately to any one of a plurality of predetermined positions.

In the art of storing information in such a manner that it is readily accessible and may readily be recovered when desired, it has been proposed to record information magnetically in code form upon strips of magnetizable material and store these strips in juxtaposition in containers known as bins. These bins are divided into cells that are open at the top so that tags provided at the upper edges of the strips may readily be gripped and a selected strip thus be individually withdrawn from the bins by suitable strip drawing mechanism. A plurality of bins is usually placed side by side to form a group or battery, and to withdraw a selected strip from the many adjacently positioned stacks of strips, the strip drawing mechanism may be arranged to move longitudinally across the row of adjacently positioned bins into position above the particular bin wherein the selected strip is stored while the bin in turn is moved in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the strip drawing mechanism into a position wherein the cell containing the selected strip is located directly under said mechanism.

It is an object of my invention to provide a hydraulic drive mechanism by means of which relatively heavy articles, such as the bins described above, may rapidly be moved very accurately into any one of a number of predetermined positions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic drive mechanism by means of which any one of a number of adjacently positioned articles may selectively be moved along parallel paths into any one of a number of predetermined positions.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a hydraulic drive mechanism, of the type referred to, whereby an article may be moved into a selected station with relatively slow or relatively fast speed depending on whether said selected station is relatively close to, or relatively far from, the station whereat the article is located at the time the hydraulic mechanism is activated to move the article to the selected station.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic mechanism for moving a plurality of bins individually into any one of a number of predetermined positions wherein many of the fluid conducting conduits and of the controls therefor are common to all the bins comprised in the arrangement.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic drive mechanism for moving heavy articles, with means for arresting movement of the articles at preselected points, which means is controlled by the moving article itself.

Additionally, it is an object of the invention to provide a high pressure hydraulic system, for moving relatively heavy articles to a predetermined point along a linear path, which is controlled by camming means that moves in unison with the articles and acts upon the high pressure hydraulic system through a closed low pressure hydraulic circuit.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the accompany- 2, ing drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof and wherein FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary schematic perspective of a hydraulic system constructed in accordance with the invention for selectively moving any one of a plurality of adjacently positioned information storage bins;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic view of the hydraulic drive system as related to a single one of the information bins, illustrating said system in idle position;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic view similar to FIGURE 1, illustrating the system in a position wherein it moves the bin at a slow speed to a preselected position;

FIGURE 4 is a schematic view similar to FIGURES 1 and 2 illustrating the hydraulic system in a position wherein it moves the bin at a rapid speed to a preselected position;

FIGURE 5 is a timing diagram illustrating the manner in which the bin is set into motion and in which it is brought to a halt depending on whether it is moved at a slow speed or an accelerated speed; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective of a hydraulically operated carriage and an information storage bin mounted thereon.

Having first reference to the FIGURES l and 6 each of the bins 10 in a row of juxtaposed bins is supported upon a hydraulically operated slave cylinder 12 for movement therewith and each of said cylinders forms part of a carriage 14 which may comprise two axially spaced blocks 15a and 15b that are rigidly secured to the slave cylinder 12 near the opposite ends thereof and which slide upon a guide rail 16. Arranged within each slave cylinder 12 is (FIGURE 2) a piston head 18 that is held stationary in space by two piston rods 20a and 20b which project from the opposite end faces of the piston head, pass through the opposite end walls 22a and 22b of the slave cylinder 12 and are firmly mounted in stationary side structures 24a and 24b respectively, of the machine frame. Rigidly supported from the bottom ends of the blocks 15a and 15b are two transversely spaced parallel bars or racks 28 and 30 that extend in a direction parallel to the axis of the slave cylinder. The bottom edge 31 of one of said bars, i.e. bar 28, is provided with a sequence of equi-spaced triangular notches 32, each adapted for engagement by a wedge-shaped detent 34 that is formed at the top of a rod 36 (FIGURE 6) which projects from the upper end of a stationary control cylinder 38 (FIG- URES 1-4 and 6). The bottom edge 39 of the other bar 30 is formed into an undulating cam surface and presents a sequence of alternate downwardly directed lobes 40 and upwardly receding recesses 42 to a cam follower roller 44 that may be transversely aligned with the detent 34 FIGURE 6), but is shown laterally displaced in FIG- URES 1-4 for clarity of illustration. Said roller is pivotally supported at the upper end of a plunger 46 (FIG- URES 2-4 and 6) which is slidably received in a sta tionary pump cylinder 48 and is urged upwardly to hold the cam follower roller 44 in engagement with the camming edge 39, by suitable spring means indicated schematically at 50.

To move a bin 10, hydraulic fluid is supplied into its slave cylinder 12 on one or the other side of the piston 18 through the piston rods 20a and 20b which are of tubular construction and which are provided with circles of ports 52a and 52b, respectively, adjacent the piston head 18. Said tubular piston rods are connected to conduits 54a and 54b, respectively, and all the conduits 54a and 54b comprised in the apparatus (FIGURE 1) branch off from two main lines 55a and 55b (FIGURES 1-4). Each of said main lines may selectively be connected to a suitable source of hydraulic fluid marked by the arrows 56 which is held under relatively high pressure, such as 500 pounds per square inch, while its companion is connected to an escape or drain line 58 leading to a suitable sump (not shown), by appropriate setting of a direction control valve 60. In the exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings said valve is represented by a cylinder 62 within which is slidably received a control spool 64 comprising three axially spaced line blocking piston sections 64a, 64b and 64c and provided with a stem 66 that extends into, and may be actuated upon by a solenoid 68. The control spool 64 is ordinarily held in the position shown in FIGURE 2 wherein line 55b is connected to the source of pressure fluid and line 55a is connected to the escape line 58. Under these conditions the escape line 58 would be connected to the left sides of all the slave cylinders comprised in the system and fluid under pressure would be directed to the right side of all the cylinders causing rightward movement of the slave cylinders relative to their stationary pistons 18, provided additional control valves to be presently described would permit unobstructed flow of hydraulic fluid through the lines 55b, 54b and 55a, 54a. Energization of the control solenoid 68, on the other hand, sets the valve 60 to the position illustrated in FIG- URE 3, wherein line 55b is connected to the escape line 58 and line 55a is connected to the source of pressure fluid, which conditions the system for leftward movement of the slave cylinders.

The main lines 55a and 55b each bifurcate into two parallel branches 55a, 55a" and 55b, 55b", respectively, over a stretch located intermediately of the direction control valve 60 and the runs of said main lines 55a and 55b from which the conduits 54a and 54b lead to opposite ends of the individual slave cylinders. Flow of fluid through the main line branches 55a and 55b is controlled by a main flow control valve 70 having restricted passages therein, the valve being adjustable from a position wherein it blocks both said main line branches 55a and 55b (FIGURE 2) to a position wherein it unblocks both said branches (FIGURES 3 and 4). Similarly the main line branches 55a" and 55b" are controlled by a booster valve 71 having unrestricted passages, the valve being normally held in a position wherein it blocks both said branches (FIGURES 2 and 3).

To determine which of the many slave cylinders 12 comprised in the system is to be activated whenever the control valve 70 is set to unblock the line 55a, 5511', as in FIGURES 3 and 4, an individual operation conditioning mechanism 72 is associated with each of the cylinders (FIGURE 1) and is normally set to block both the conduits 54a and '54!) leading from the main lines 55a and 55b to the interior of a selected cylinder through the tubular piston rods 20a and 20b thereof. The operation conditioning mechanisms 72 may individually be actuated to unblock both said conduits irrespective of which is to serve as the pressure 'line and which as the escape line. The mechanisms 72 serve the additional purpose of actuating individually the above mentioned detents 34 for the slave cylinders. They are formed by the hereinbefore mentioned cylinders 38 within each of which is slidably received a control spool 74 comprising three axially spaced piston segments 74a, 74b and 74c that are adapted to block the entrance and discharge ports of the cylinder 38. Mounted upon the uppermost piston segment 74c and projecting upwardly therefrom is the hereinbefore mentioned rod 36 that forms the detent 34 at its upper end. When the spool 74 is in the upwardly projected position illustrated in FIGURE 2, wherein the detent 34 engages a notch 32 in the rack bar 28 of the particular slave cylinder with which the conditioning mechanism 72 is associated, indicating that said slave cylinder is at rest, said mechanism connects both sides of its slave cylinder with each other so that fluid may readily flow from one side of the cylinder to the other and a pressure equilibrium will automatically be established on opposite sides of the pistonv head 18.

The conditioning mechanism 72 is held in the position 4 illustrated in FIGURE 2, by pressure fluid delivered into the cylinder 38 below its lowest piston segment 74a through a line 76 that may be connected to the common source of pressure fluid by an auxiliary control valve 78. In the position of valve 78 illustrated in FIGURE 2, a segment 80a of a control spool 80 that is slidably received within a cylinder 82, is in a position wherein the line 76 is connected to the source of pressure fluid 56 while another piston segment 80b of said spool is in a position wherein it blocks a conduit 58 leading to the sump. In this position of valve 78, the pressure fluid is applied against the lowermost piston segment 7 4a of spool 74 over the total transverse area of the cylinder 38, and said spool is therefore held in the elevated position illustrated in FIGURE 2 in spite of the pressure exerted against the top surface of the uppermost segment 740 through a pressure line 84 because pressure supplied through line 84 bears only against the annual area of said uppermost segment 74c surrounding the detent rod 36. If it is desired, however, to move a particular bin, the spool of valve 78 is moved to the right, by energization of'a solenoid 86 into the position illustrated in both FIGURES 3 and 4, wherein the piston segment 80a blocks the pressure line 56 and the piston segment 8% unblocks the sump line 58. As a result thereof the fluid contained in the bottom of control cylinder 38 may escape to the sump in response to the pressure exerted upon its uppermost piston segment 740 through line 84 and the control spool 74 drops to the position illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4. In this position the connection between the opposite sides of the slave cylinder is broken by the central piston segment 74b, the conduit 54a to the left side of the slave cylinder is connected to the main line 55a through the space between the central piston segment 74b and the bottom segment 74a, and the conduit 54b leading to the right side of the slave cylinder is connected to the main line 5511 through the space between the central piston segment 74b and the top segment 740. Hence, fluid under pressure may enter one side of the slave cylinder while fluid may escape into the sump firom the opposite side of said slave cylinder (depending on which of the main lines 55a and 55b is connected to the source of pressure fluid and which is connected to the sump by the particular position of direction control valve 60 at the moment), whenever the main flow control valve 70 has been actuated to unblock the branches 55a and 55b of the main lines. As an added result of the described actuation of a particular conditioning mechanism 72, the detent 34 is withdrawn from whatever notch 32 of the rack bar 28 of the corresponding slave cylinder it engaged, and the particular slave cylinder may thus begin to move in one or the other direction depending upon the setting of the direction control valve 60.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing the main flow control valve 70 is schematically represented as formed by a cylinder 88, the passages through which are of less cross-sectional area than the lines 55a and 55b. Within the cylinder is slidingly received a control spool 89 comprising three axially spaced piston segments 89a, 89b and 890. The piston segments 89a and 8% block the main line branches 55a and 55b, respectively, when held in the elevated position illustrated in FIGURE 2, so that no pressure fluid can be delivered to any of the slave cylinders 12 nor any fluid escape from said cylinders. To hold these piston segments in line-blocking position the bottom of the cylinder 88 is connected to a line 90 that is ordinarily blocked by the segment 91a of a control spool 91 which is slidably received in the cylinder 92 of a control valve 94. Both the line 90 and the bottom of cylinder 88 contain fluid which fills the cylinder to a level whereat it holds the control spool 89 in the elevated line-blocking position illustrated in FIGURE 2, but this fluid is under no more pressure (10-30 p.s.i.)

than exerted upon it by the weight of the control spool 89 and the force of an actuating spring 95 which is interposed between the top wall of the cylinder 88 and the uppermost piston segment 89c. Pressure in line 90 is maintained at approximately this level by means of a relief valve 93.

To open the main flow control valve 70, in order to condition the system for immediate operation so that any one of the slave cylinders may be moved depending upon which of the bin selection valves 78 is actuated, the spool 91 of the valve 94 is pulled to the left, as viewed in FIGURE 2, by energization of a suitable solenoid 96, into the position illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4 wherein the piston segment 91a unblocks the line 90 and permits the fluid in cylinder 88 to flow under the force of spring 95 from the line 90 through a conduit 98 to an expansible fluid accumulator 100. The resultant drop of the piston segments 89a and 89b unblocks the main line branches 55a and 55b so that high pressure fluid is applied to all the operation conditioning mechanisms 72 comprised in the system through one of said main line branches while the other main line branch is ready to conduct displaced fluid from any one of the slave cylinders into the sump as soon as the control valve 78 of any one of said cylinders is actuated.

Let it be assumed that one of the bins comprised in the apparatus illustrated in FIGURE 1 is to be moved to the left for instance, the bin shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4. Signals from the electronic control circuitry of an information storage machine (not shown) initiate energization of the solenoid 68 of the direction control valve 60 which is common to all the bins in the apparatus. The control circuitry also initiates energization of the solenoid 86 of the bin selection valve 78 which actuates the conditioning mechanism 72 for the slave cylinder of the particular bin that is to be moved. In addition it initiates energization of the solenoid 96 of valve 94 which controls the position of the main flow control valve 70. Energization of solenoid 68 sets the direction control valve 60 to the position illustrated in FIGURE 3 wherein fluid under pressure is delivered into line 55a and line 55b is connected to the sump. Energization of bin selection solenoid 86 sets the valve 78 to a position wherein the bottom of the detent actuating cylinder 38 is connected to the sump as likewise illustrated in FIGURE 3. As a result thereof, the detent 34 is withdrawn from the notched bar 28 of the slave cylinder, and the piston sections within said cylinder assume a position wherein the conduit 54a of the selected slave cylinder communicates with the main line 5511 (which is connected to the source of fluid under pressure at the moment), and the conduit 54b of the selected slave cylinder is connected to the main 5511 (which is connected to the sump).

At the same time, the energized solenoid 96 places the control valve 94 into the position shown in FIGURE 3, wherein the escape line 90 at the bottom of cylinder 88 of the main flow control valve 70 is unblocked, so that fluid from the bottom of said cylinder may flow to the expansible accumulator 100 enabling the spring 95 at the top of the cylinder 88 to lower the piston segments 89a and 89b to the position illustrated in FIGURE 3 wherein both the main line branches 55a and 5512 are unblocked. Fluid under pressure may therefore reach the left side of the selected slave cylinder (but of none of the other cylinders) and any fluid in the right side of the selected slave cylinder (but in none of the other cylinders) may escape to the sump. With the detent 34 of the selected cylinder (but of no other slave cylinder) withdrawn, the selected slave cylinder, and only the selected slave cylinder, moves to the left relative to its stationary piston head 18, as fluid is forced into its left side.

In accordance with the invention means are provided that arrest the advance of the moving bin very accurately 6 at any one of a plurality of equi-spaced predetermined stations of its range of movement in response to de-energizatiou of the control solenoid 96 at a time when the moving bin has just passed the directly preceding station and before it has approached the selected station too closely.

Let it be assumed that a signal from the electronic control circuitary of an information storage machine efiects deenergization of the solenoid 96 causing the control valve 94 to return to the position illustrated in FIGURE 2 wherein it blocks the escape conduit at the bottom of the main flow control cylinder 88. This by itself is inetfective to change the setting of the main flow control valve 70, but it conditions the low pressure system formed by the escape lines 90 and 98 and the accumulator 100 to raise the control spool 89 within the main flow control cylinder 88into line-blocking position whenever the moving bin reaches a predetermined point. This point is sensed by the cam follower roller 44 upon the plunger 46 of the pump 48 associated with the operating slave cylinder, as the camming bar 30 of said slave cylinder slides its camming edge over said cam follower roller. For this purpose all the pump cylinders 48 comprised in the apparatus are connected to the escape line 90 at points intermediately of the cylinder 88 and the control valve 94 through parallel conduits 102 (FIGURES 1 to 4). As the cam follower roller 44 on the plunger 46 associated with a slave cylinder in motion rides up and down the lobes and depressions of the camming bar that moves with the slave cylinder, the plunger 46 is reciprocated between a position wherein it is partially withdrawn from its cylinder 48 (FIGURE 3) and a position wherein it is fully inserted into said cylinder (FIGURE 4) and forces the fluid initially contained therein through the line 102 into the escape line 90 at the bottom of the main flow control cylinder 88. As long as said escape line 90 is unblocked and communicates with the expansible accumulator 100, the described action of the pump 46/48 remains without effect upon the setting of the main flow controlvalve 70 because the expanding accumulator 100 may readily receive the added amount of fluid delivered into the escape line 90 whenever the plunger is forced deeper into its cylinder by. a lobe 40 on the camming edge 38, and the piston sections 89a and 89b of the main flow control spool 89 remain dependably in line-opening position under the urgency of spring 95; and whenever the plunger 46 is withdrawn from its piston 48 by the action of spring 50 as its cam follower roller 44 moves into a recess 42 of the camming edge, the fluid accumulated in the expansible accumulator will supply the amount of fluid required to keep the pump cylinder 48 filled. When the end of the escape line 90 is closed, however, by deenergization of the control solenoid 96, a depression of plunger 46 into the pump cylinder 48 as effected by a lobe 40 on the camming edge38, forces the fluid from the pump cylinder positively through the line 90 into the main flow control cylinder 88 and raises its flow controlling piston segments into line-blocking positions, such as illustrated in FIGURE 2. As a result thereof fluid under pressure can no longer reach one or the other side of the slave cylinder nor may fluid escape from the opposite side thereof, and consequently the moving slave cylinder comes to a halt at the moment when the cam follower roller 44 reaches the top of the next lobe 40 of its co-operating camming edge 38 after the control solenoid 96 has been de-energized.

The effectiveness of the described bin-arresting arrangement remtins unimpaired even if the stop-operation initiating de-energization of the control solenoid 96 occurs at a point along the path of the moving bin which makes it necessary for the cam follower roller 44 to first negotiate a depression 42 in the edge of the camming bar before it can reach a motion arresting lobe 40 thereof, because a check valve 104 in a shunt line 105 which by-passes the control valve 94 permits fluid to flow from the accumulator 100 to the pump cylinder 48 when the plunger is withdrawn from said cylinder while the spool segment 91a of the stop control valve 94 is in a line-blocking position, but prevents fluid from returning to said accumulator as soon as the motion of the plunger is reversed.

Whenever the control circuitry of an information storage machine efiects de-energization of the stop control solenoid 96 to arrest the advance of a moving bin at a predetermined station of its range of movement, said circuitry is arranged to efiect in quick succession the deenergization of the bin selection solenoid 86 which permits the bin selection valve 78 to return to the position illustrated in FIGURE 2 wherein the line 76 at the bottom of the bin control cylinder 38 is connected to the source of pressure fluid 56. This raises the piston sections 74a and 74b at the bottom of the bin control cylinder 38 to the positions wherein the left and right side of the slave cylinder are connected directly with each other for free exchange of the fluid contained therein, and at the same time projects the wedge-shaped detent 34 into engagement with a triangular notch 32, in the bar 28, that is operationally aligned with the peak of the camming lobe 40 which effected closure of the main flow control valve 70. Engagement of the detent 34 with the appropriate triangular notch 32 of bar 28 while the opposite sides of the slave cylinder are in free communication with each other, is effective to locate the slave cylinder and hence the bin supported thereon very precisely in a position wherein the selected cell of the bin is in vertical alignment with the strip-drawing mechanism.

For activating the described drive mechanism to move a selected bin to the right (FIGURE 4), the electronic tCOtDIOl circuitry effects energization of the solenoid 86 of the bin selection valve 78 associated with the slave cylinder of the selected bin. This is effective to withdraw the detent 34 and thus releases the slave cylinder of the selected bin for operation. It is also effective to conmeet the conduits 54a and 54b of the selected cylinder to the main lines 55a and 55b, respectively, in the manner described hereinbefore. The control circuitry also effects energization of the start and stop control solenoid 96 to set the valve 94 to a position wherein it connects the escape line 90 of the main flow control cylinder 88 to the expansible accumulator 100 which causes the piston sections 89a and 89b in said cylinder 88 to unblock the main line branches 55a and 55b (FIGURE 4). The solenoid 68 of the direction control valve 66, however, remains de-energized and said valve, therefore, remains in a position, wherein it connects the source of pressure fluid to the main line 55b and opens the main line 55a for discharge into the sump as illustrated in FIGURE 4. As a result of the defined settings of the direction control valve 66, the main flow control valve 70, and the operation conditioning valve 72, fluid under pressure is now delivered into the right side of the selected slave cylinder, while fluid contained in the left side of said cylinder is allowed to escape through lines 54a and 55a to the sump. Hence, the selected slave cylinder moves to the right.

The manipulations necessary to bring the moving slave cylinder to a halt in a predetermined position wherein a selected cell in the bin mounted thereon is disposed directly below the strip-drawing mechanism are identical with those described hereinbefore to halt a bin that moves to the left. De-energization of the start and stop solenoid 96 is effective to block the escape line 90 of the main flow control cylinder 88, and depression of the pump cylinder 46 by the next camming lobe 40 which the follower roller 44 has to negotiate as the bin continues to move to the right, is efiective to raise the piston sections 89a and 89b of the main flow control cylinder 70 into flow-blocking position. At the same time, de-energization of the bin selection solenoid 86 allows fluid under pressure to enter the bin control cylinder 38 and lift the detent 34 into engagement with a notch 32 in the bar 28 of the operating slave cylinder while connecting the opposite ends of said slave cylinder for direct communication with each other to permit the slave cylinder to assume the exact position determined by full engagement of the detent 34 with the notch 32.

The pressure upon the hydraulic pressure fluid and the size of the conduits in the described system are so chosen that the selected slave cylinders advance with a predetermined speed which permits the bins to be brought to a halt Within a relatively short distance. This speed of advance may be adequate :as long as the bins are to be moved over a relatively short distance to reach theirnew stations, but if they have to travel relatively large distances to reach their new stations, it may be desir able that they move at a greater speed over at least a part of their intended journey to reduce the time an operator has to wait before the information storage machine supplies the requested data. The drive mechanism of the invention therefore comprises means for boosting the speed of movement of the slave cylinders whenever a'selected bin has to move over a distance exceeding a certain minimum number of consecutive stations, and it also comprises means for reducing the speed of the accelerated bin to a standard level an adequate distance in front of the new station to permit the hereinbefore described bin arresting arrangement to halt the moving bin at precisely the intended station.

It is for this purpose that the main lines 55a and 55b are split into parallel branches 55a, 55a" and 55b, 55b over an intermediate portion of their length, and that the resultant pairs of coacting branch lines 55a, 55b and 55a, 5512 are controlled by separate valves 70 and 71, respectively, as described hereinbefore. Whenever a bin is to be moved over a relatively short distance, only the branch lines 55a, 55b are opened which is accomplished by actuation of the main flow control valve 70 in the manner described hereinbefore, but when a bin is to be moved over a relatively large distance the branch lines 55a", 55b" are opened in addition to the lines 55a and 55b by proper actuation of the booster valve 71 to increase the volumetric rate of fluid flow to the expanding side of the operating slave cylinder and to provide additional space for fluid to escape from the opposite side thereof.

The booster valve 71 is formed by a cylinder 106 having passages whose cross-sectional areas are equal to those at lines 55a" and 55b". The cylinder is provided with an upper portion 107 of reduced diameter within which is slidably received a piston stem 108 that extends into the cylinder proper whereat it carries a control spool 110 comprising three axially spaced piston segments 110a, 110b, and 1100. The two lower segments 110a and 11Gb are arranged to block the main line branches 55a" and 55b", respectively, when the spool 110 is in the elevated position illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3 so that said branches do not partake in the operation of the system. To hold the control spool 110 in elevated position, the lower end of the cylinder 106 is connected to the source of fluid under pressure by means of a line 112 which is controlled by a valve 114 that is normally set to connect said line 112 to the source of pressure fluid as in FIGURES 2 and 3, but which may be actuated by a solenoid 116 to connect the line 112 to the sump as shown in FIGURE 4.

When a selected bin is to be moved to a station that is removed from the station at which the bin is at rest by a distance extending over several intermediate stations, the solenoid 116 is energized and sets the control valve 114 to the position shown in FIGURE 4, wherein it blocks the supply of pressure fluid and connects theline 112 to the sump. With the fluid in the bottom of the cylinder 106 thus allowed to escape from the cylinder, pressure permanently applied to the top end of the piston stem 108 through a pressure line 118 connected to the upper end of the narrow cylinder portion 107 moves the piston rod to the position illustrated in FIGURE 4 wherein the auxiliary booster lines 55a" and 55b" are unblocked. Thus, with the control valve 70 set to unblock the main line branches 55a and 55b in the customary manner, and the operation conditioning mechanism 72 of a selected bin set to open the conduits 54a and 54b to the slave cylinder of the selected bin, a much larger volumetric rate of fluid flow under pressure is delivered to one side of the cylinder and much more space is provided for the escape of fluid from the other side of the cylinder than was the case when the booster valve 71 was in line-blocking position. The selected slave cylinder will therefore move the bin at an accelerated speed no matter in which direction the bin is constrained to move by the setting of direction control valve 66.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention illus trated in the accompanying drawings, the booster valve 71 is opened to accelerate movement of a selected bin to a new station whenever the bin has to travel a distance extending over more than three consecutive stations to reach its new position. In all instances the control solenoid 96 of the main flow control valve 70 and the control solenoid 116 of the booster valve 71 are energized simultaneously to set said valves to positions wherein they unblock the lines 55a, 55b and 55a", 55b" so that the bin may quickly reach a high speed of movement. However, to stop the bin at its destination, the booster valve 71 is closed at a point in advance of the intended new position of the bin by a distance that is adequate to allow the advancing bin to slow down to the speed level it would have reached, if the flow control valve 70 alone had been opened. Thereupon said main flow control valve 70 is closed in the customary manner by de-energization of the start and stop solenoid 96 at a point directly beyond the immediately preceding station and thus sufliciently in advance of the intended new position of the bin to permit the bin to slow down and be fully arrested at precisely its new place of location by the above described sequence of stop operations.

In the timing chart shown in FIGURE 5 the abscissa X marks the increments of movement of a bin from a station I wherein it presents its first cell to the stripdrawing mechanism through station )ClI wherein it presents its last cell to said mechanism, and the ordinate Y indicates the speed of movement of the bin as effected by operation of its slave cylinder 12. Let us assume a bin to be in a position wherein it presents its rightmost cell to the strip-drawing mechanism. When this bin is to be moved to any one of the next three consecutive stations, wherein it presents its second, third or fourth cell, respectively, to the strip-drawing mechanism, it is only the main control valve 70 that is opened, while the booster valve 71 remains closed in all instances. In all three instances the bin reaches the speed indicated by the level marked S in FIGURE 5, and if the bin is to stop at station II, the stop control solenoid 96 and the bin selection solenoid 86 are de-energized to initiate the stop operations as soon as the advancing bin reaches the point marked P i.e. when it has scarcely commenced to move. The speed of the advancing bin continues to increase, however, since its camming bar 30 presents the receding edge of a depression 42 to the pump-operating cam follower roller 46 and no fluid is therefore forced into the blocked escape line 90 of the main flow control cylinder 88. After said roller has passed the deepest point of said depression, however, which is identified by the point T in FIGURE 5, the direction of movement of the plunger 46 is reversed and said plunger forces fluid into the blocked escape line 9-0. As a result thereof the main control valve 70 begins 10 to close the main line branches 55a and 55b, and the movement of the cylinder begins to slow down as indicated by the oblique line 0 and comes to a complete halt at exactly station II.

When the bin is to come to a halt at station III or station IV, the solenoids 96 and 86 must be de-energized at points P or P respectively, which are located in front of the intended destination of the bin by a distance almost as large as the distance between two consecutive stations of the bin, and at points T or T respectively, the cam-actuated pump 46/48 begins to force fluid through the line 90 into the main flow control cylinder 88 so that the speed of the bin decreases as indicated by the oblique lines 0 and O and the bin comes to a halt at precisely station III or station IV, as the case may be.

Let it now be assumed, however, that the bin is to move from station I to station V whereat it is to present its fifth cell to the strip-drawing device. In this case the control solenoids 96 and 116 are both energized simultaneously to open both the main flow control valve 70 and the booster valve 71, and pressure fluid will be delivered to the appropriate side of the cylinder of th selected bin through both the branches 55a, 55a", or 55b, 551), as the case may be, while adequate space is provided for fluid to escape from the opposite side of the cylinder at an accelerated rate. As a result thereof, the bin gains speed more rapidly and will rise to a higher level than was the case when the flow control valve 70 alone was opened. However, by the time the advancing bin reaches a point identified by the letter U in FIG- URE 5which is approximately in line with station II it is necessary to de-energize the booster control solenoid 116 and allow the booster valve 71 to close so that the speed of the advancing bin may slow down to the level S, as indicated by the oblique line Q and from said speed level the bin may be brought to a complete halt at the selected station V by deenergizing the start and stop solenoid 96 and the bin selection solenoid 86 directly after the bin has passed over the directly preceding station IV at a point identified by the letter P in FIGURE 5. This initiates the above descibed customary stop operations that will bring the bin to a halt at precisely station V.

The same sequence of control operations occurs when the bin is to be moved from station I to any one of stations VI to XII. In all instances, both the solenoids 96 and 116 are energized to open the flow control valves 70 and 71 causing the bin to gain speed until it reaches points U to U respectively, which are located in front of the .intended destination by a distance about equal to the sum of the intervals between four consecutive stations. At these points the control solenoid 116 is de-energized to close the booster valve 71 causing the bin to slow down as indicated by the oblique lines Q; to Q in FIGURE 5, to the speed level S established by flow of pressure fluid through the main line branch 55a or 55b only. At this speed level, closure of the main flow control valve 70 effected by de-energization of the start and stop solenoid 96 at points P to P a distance in front of the destination points VI to XII, respectively, will bring the moving bin to a halt at precisely the intended point of destination.

To enable the booster valve 71 to open rapidly whenever its control solenoid 116 is energized, but to close slowly when said control solenoid is de-energized so that the decline in speed of the advancing bin may be a gradual one as indicated by the oblique lines Q to Q in FIG- URE 5, the pressure line 118 at the top of booster cylinder 106 has a restricted passage, as indicated at 120, which is by-passed by a shunt line 122 that contains a valve 24 which permits fluid to flow from the source of pressure fluid toward the cylinder 106 but blocks any flow of fluid in the opposite direction. As a result of this arrangement, the full amount of fluid carried by the line 118 may be applied against the stem 108 at the top of the booster cylinder 106, in spite of the restriction 120,

1 1 and quickly force the fluid below the piston segment 11Gb from the cylinder when the bottom of said cylinder 106 is connected to the sump by energization of the control solenoid 116. However, when the source of fluid pressure is connected to the bottom of the booster cylinder by de-energization of the control solenoid 116 and forces the control spool 110 upwards by applying fluid pressure against the full bottom surface of the piston segment 110a thereof, escape of the fluid from the upper end of the booster cylinder is slowed down markedly by the fact that the by-pass line 122 is now blocked, and fluid may escape only through the restricted part 12% of the pressure line 118 intermediately of the by-pass line 122.

The described hydraulic system provides for individual movement of any one of a plurality of adjacently positioned bins to any one of a plurality of consecutive stations, and this movement may take place in either direction and at a relatively slow or a relatively high speed depending upon the distance which the bin has to travel from its initial position to its destination. It places the driven bin very accurately at its point of destination whether the bin is moved at a slow speed or a high speed. In order to stop movement of an advancing bin at a predetermined point of its path, the flow of the motion-effecting high pressure fluid to the operating slave cylinder is interrupted by camming means that travel with the bin, without need for said camming means to handle high loads which would quickly wear out both the camming means and the cam follower and thus seriously shorten the useful life span of the arrangement. This is accomplished by actuating the main control valve for the high pressure line through a low pressure hydraulic systern which may be acted upon by the camming means without excessive wear. In spite of its various functions the hydraulic drive arrangement of the invention is relatively simple and a large part of its conduits and control valves, i.e. all conduits and control mechanisms below the line 125 in FIGURES l to 4, are common to all the slave cylinders comprised in the apparatus, such as the direction control mechanism, the main flow control valve, the speedbooster valve, and the start and stop control valve. Also, While the speed system provides for different speeds of the bins, all of the stop control operations that insure accurate placement of a moving bin at its point of destination when the bin moves at slow speed, are utilized and form part of the stop operations required to bring a fast moving bin to a halt at precisely its intended point of destination.

While I have described my invention with the aid of a particular embodiment thereof, the invention is not limited to the specific constructional details illustrated and described by way of example, which may be departed from without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Arrangement for moving an object to predetermined points along a rectilinear path, comprising: a slave cylinder drivingly connected to the object; high pressure fluid lines connected to the slave cylinder; a control valve connected across the fluid lines, the control valve being adjustable from an open to a closed position to regulate the fluid pressure applied to the slave cylinder and thus control movement of the object; and means for regulating the control valve, said means including a fluid accumulator, a valve means, a pump, a low pressure fluid line connecting in series the accumulator, valve means, pump and control valve, the valve means being adjustable to control fluid flow between the control valve and the accumulator, cam means movable with the object, the cam means being in operative engagement with the pump, and means operable to close the valve means and permit the pump to force fluid into the control valve to close the control valve and arrest movement of the object.

2. Arrangement for moving-an object to predetermined points along a rectilinear path comprising a slave cylinder arranged to support said object; high pressure lines leading into said slave cylinder; a control valve for said lines having line-blocking components settable from a first position wherein they connect one of said lines to a source of'fluid under high pressure and the other to a sump to effect operation of said slave cylinder and movement of said object, to a second position wherein they block said lines to arrest movement of the object; and means for actuating said valve including fluid in said valve to hold said line-blocking components thereof in line-closing position, a fluid accumulator, a low pressure line connecting said valve and said accumulator, lineblocking means settable from a position wherein it blocks said low pressure line to a position wherein it opens said low pressure line to permit escape of the fluid in said valve to said accumulator and thus cause the line-blocking components of said valve to open said high pressure lines, a pump connected to said low pressure line at a point between said valve and said low pressure lineblocking means, camming means supported for movement with said object in actuating engagement with said pump, means operable to move said low pressure line-blocking means into line-blocking position to enable the next pumping stroke of said pump as efiected by said camming means during movement of said article to force fluid into said valve and eflect closure thereof.

3. Arrangement for moving an object to predetermined points along a rectilinear path comprising a slave cylinder arranged to support said object; high pressure lines leading into said slave cylinder at opposite ends thereof; a control valve for said lines having line-blocking components settable from a first position wherein they connect one of said lines to a source of fluid under high pressure and the other of said lines to a sump to effect operation of said slave cylinder and movement of said object, to a second position wherein they block said lines to arrest movement of the object; and means for actuating said valve including fluid in said valve for holding said line-blocking components thereof in line-closing position, a fluid accumulator, a low pressure line connecting said valve and said accumulator, line-blocking means settable from a position wherein it blocks said low pressure line to maintain fluid in said valve and thus keep the lineblocking components of said valve in line-blocking condition to a position wherein it opens said low pressure line to permit escape of the fluid in said valve to said accumulator and thus cause the line-blocking components of said valve to open said high pressure lines, a pump connected to said low pressure line at a point between said valve and said low-pressure-line-blocking means, camming means supported for movement with said object in actuating engagement with said pump for alternately pumping fluid into, and withdrawing fluid from, said low-pressure line as said object moves along said rectilinear path thereof, means operable to move said lowpressure-line-blocking means into line-blocking position to disrupt communication thereof with said accumulator and thus enable the next pumping stroke of said pump to force fluid into said valve and effect closure thereof, thus arresting movement of said object.

4. Arrangement for moving an object to predetermined points along a rectilinear path comprising a slave cylinder arranged to support said object; high pressure lines leading into said slave cylinder at opposite ends thereof; a control valve for said lines having line-blocking components settable from a first position wherein they connect one of said lines to a source of fluid under high pressure and the other of said lines to a sump to effect operation of said slave cylinder and movement of said object, to a second position wherein they block said lines to arrest movement of the object; and means for actuating said valve including fluid in said valve for holding said line-blocking components thereof in line-closing position, a fluid accumulator, a low pressure line connecting said valve and said accumulator, line-blocking means settable from a position wherein it blocks said low pressure line to maintain fluid in said valve and thus keep the line-blocking components of said valve in lineblocking condition to a position wherein it opens said low pressure line to permit escape of the fluid in said valve to said accumulator and thus cause the line-blocking components of said valve to open said high pressure lines, a pump connected to said low pressure line at a point between said valve and said low-pressure-line-blocking means, camming means supported for movement with said object having a sequence of alternate lobes and recesses in actuating engagement with said pump for alternately pumping fluid into, and withdrawing fluid from, said low-pressure line as said object moves along said rectilinear path thereof, means operable to move said low-pressure-line-blocking means into line-blocking position to disrupt communication thereof with said accumulator and thus enable the next pumping stroke of said pump as effected by a lobe of said camming means to force fluid into said valve and effect closure thereof, thus arresting movement of said object.

5. Arrangement according to claim 3 including a bypass line shunted across said low-pressure-linc-blocking means and provided with a valve permitting flow or" fluid from said accumulator to said low pressure line when said low-pressure-line-blocking means is in line-closing position, but blocking flow of fluid through said by-pass line from said low pressure lines to said accumulator.

6. Arrangement for selectively moving any one of a plurality of adjacently positioned objects to any one of a plurality of consecutive stations along parallel rectilinear paths comprising a plurality of adjacently positioned slave cylinders each arranged to move one of said objects, a notched positioning member and a camming member supported from each object for movement therewith, a pair of main lines selectively connectable to a source of fluid under high pressure and a sump, pairs of conduits leading from said main lines into opposite ends of said slave cylinders, an operation-conditioning mechanism adjacent each of said slave cylinders having detent means adapted to engage a notch in the notched positioning member of its respective object and settable from a cylinder-disabling position wherin it blocks the conduits leading from said main lines to its respective slave cylinder and projects said detent means into engagement with a notch in its coacting positioning member to an operation-conditioning position wherein its retracts said detent means from its co-operating positioning member and connects said conduits to said main lines, cylinder-selection means associated with each of said operation-conditioning mechanisms for setting said mechanisms individually to said last defined position stTas to condition a selected one of said slave cylinders for operation; a control cylinder for controlling said main lines having line-blocking means and means for holding said line-blocking means thereof in line-blocking condition including fluid contained in said cylinder, a fluid accumulator, a low pressure line connecting said cylinder and said accumulator, means normally eflfective to block said low pressure line and thus maintain the fluid in said cylinder to hold the line-blocking means thereof in line-blocking condition, means operable to retract said low-pressureline-blocking means and thus connect said cylinder to said accumulator to permit escape of the fluid contained therein causing movement of said line-blocking means into line-opening position so that fluid under high pressure may pass through one of said main lines and reach the slave cylinder selected by actuation of said selection means thereof eifecting movement of the object supported from said selected slave cylinder along its rectilinear path, and a pump associated with each of said slave cylinders in operative engagement with the camming means supported for movement with the object upon the selected cylinder and connected to said low pressure line at a point intermediately of said control cylinder and said low pressure-line-blocking means to alternately pump fluid into, and withdraw fluid from, said low pressure line as the selected object moves along its rectilinear path, said pump being effective upon closure of said low pressure line to force fluid into said cylinder and effect movement of said line-blocking means thereof into line-blocking position to arrest movement of the advancing object.

7. Arrangement for selectively moving any one of a plurality of adjacently positioned objects to any one of a plurality of consecutive stations along parallel rectilinear paths with a relatively slow speed or a relatively fast speed comprising a plurality of adjacently positioned slave cylinders each arranged to move one of said objects in both directions; a notched positioning member and a camming member supported from each object for movement therewith; a pair of main lines; valve means settable between a position wherein it connects one of said main lines to a source of fluid under high pressure and the other one of said main lines to a sump and a position wherein it connects said first mentioned main line to a sump and said last mentioned main line to a source of fluid under high pressure to determine the direction of movement of whatever object is to be moved; pairs of conduits leading from said main lines into opposite ends of said slave cylinders; an operation-conditioning mechanism adjacent each of said slave cylinders having detent means adapted to engage a notch in the notched positioning member of its respective object, and settable from a cylinder-disabling position wherein it blocks the conduits leading from said main lines to its respective lave cylinder, connects the opposite ends of said slave cylinder with each other, and projects said detent means into engagement with a notch in its coacting positioning member, to an operation-conditioning position wherein it retracts said detent means from its co-operating positioning member and connects said conduits to said main lines; selection means associated with each of said operation conditioning mechanisms for setting said mechanisms individually to said last defined position so as to condition a selected one of said slave cylinders for operation; each of said main lines being divided into first and second branches over a stretch intermediately of the portions thereof whereat said conduits are connected to said main lines, and said direction controlling valve means; a first control cylinder for controlling the first branches of said main lines having line-blocking means and means for holding said line-blocking means in line-blocking condition including fluid contained in said cylinder, a fluid accumulator, alow pressure line connecting said cylinder and said accumulator, mean normally effective to block said low pressure line and thus maintain the fluid in said cylinder to hold the line-blocking means thereof in line-blocking condition, means operable to retract said low pressure lineblocking means and thus connect said cylinder to said accumulator to permit escape of the fluid contained therein causing movement of said line-blocking means into line-opening position so that fluid under high pressure may pass through one of said first main line branches and reach the slave cylinder selected by actuation of said selection means thereof effecting movement, at a slow rate of speed, of the object supported from said cylinder in a direction determined by the setting of said direction control valve, a pump associated with each of said slave cylinders 1n operative engagement with the camming means supported for movement with the object carried thereby and con nected to said low pressure line at a point intermediately of said control cylinder and said low-pressure-line-blocking means to alternately pump fluid into, and withdraw fluid from, said low pressure line as the selected object moves along its rectilinear path, said pump being effective upon closure of said low pressure line to force with its next pumping stroke fluid into said cylinder and effect movement of said line-blocking means thereof into lineblocking position to arrest movement of the advancing ob- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Randall Ian. 28, 1958 Le Brusque Oct. 14, 1958 Siegle Nov. 18, 1958 Panissidi et al. Jan. 26, 1960 

